NEW YORK: Big Crowd Rallies For Homeless LGBT Youth

Several hundred activists rallied in New York City's Union Square last night in support of homeless LGBT youth. The rally, which was sponsored by the Ali Forney Center, featured speeches from Lt. Dan Choi and actress Sandra Bernhard among others. Frank And Gabe reports:

One of the event’s prominent speakers was Lt. Dan Choi, who brought an incredible emotional resonance to the crowd, urging everyone to join him in cheering for LGBT Youth and equality. “I have a message to all the LGBT Youth wondering if it’s worth it to come out,” he said. ” You deserve to be treated like a full person. You are my heroes. Say it with me, I am somebody. I am somebody. I am somebody and I deserve full equality right here, right now.” That damage experienced by LGBT Youth was evident in the statistics alone. NYC Council Member Lewis Fidler cited sobering figures about the number of homeless children in New York City, and added that a significant percentage of these children are LGBT. Putting a face to these numbers were several gay youth who stood up to tell the crowd their story. Most had experienced a similar trajectory. Having grown up in conservative, religious households, when they came out to their parents or guardians, they soon found themselves on the street. Organizations working to help LGBT youth like the Ali Forney Center took them in, and now some were even working for the same organizations that had given them a lifeline when needed it most.

JMG reader Jamie McGonnigal has a large photo gallery of the event posted to his Facebook page.